Internal combustion engines with a lubricant circuit according to the dry sump principle have a separate lubricant reservoir into which the lubricant is pumped out of a small reservoir underneath the crankshaft by means of a lubricant pump, and out of which the lubricant is conveyed to the lubrication sites of the internal combustion engine. Such a lubricant circuit is described, for example, in document DE 38 20 480.
One of the major advantages of dry sump lubrication consists in the lubricant reservoir which is not located underneath the crankshaft, as a result of which the internal combustion engine has a lower center of gravity and the internal combustion engine requires less installation space vertically.
But the disadvantage is that installation space for the configuration and the tubing of the separate lubricant reservoir must be provided in the engine compartment of the motor vehicle.
The object of the invention is to devise an internal combustion engine with a lubricant circuit using the dry sump principle in which the lubricant reservoir requires little installation space and thus can be produced very economically.